Not About ChaCha
by encas
Summary: My name is Connie. And ever since I have finished school and got my own place, things have sucked, quite frankly. But will life always be this way? Dad x Mom/Forest x Connie, possibly OOC due to not watching the series in English fully.
1. Disaster

My name is Connie. And ever since I have finished school and got my own place, things have sucked, quite frankly. First off, I got my own place simply because my parents happened to die in quick succession. If that doesn't say "life sucks every possible piece of male genitalia in existence", I don't know what does. And so I was left with their house, a small yet colorful ranch on the corner of Sunday Street in the outskirts of Green Hill Town. And life sucked.

Secondly, my love life, and social life in general, was nonexistent. My last boyfriend, some guy I met in college whom I would rather not name, dumped me because I was (or am) "a bitch", in his own words. So I told him, "Screw you". I decided to break things off with no looking back. And it seemed like nobody cared for me, as I really had no friends either.

There were days where I simply felt like killing myself. Well, not really, but I felt pretty low on some days. I looked at myself. "Okay Connie, let's see. No one depends on you. You mooch off your parents in the sky, and even your little sister isn't that little anymore and is on her own. So what's the point of this crap?"

…

One day, on a particularly bad day, I decided enough was enough. No, I wasn't going to go hang myself or go to the gun shop, but I was going to get someone who would depend on me. I was going to get a dog. A little puppy who would love me no matter how much of a bitch I was, or how much I loathed myself.

After doing some research, I found a Kuvasz breeder (Kuvasok have always been my favorite dogs) within the city limits, and I went for it. Armed with about six hundred dollars in cash and a lot of hope and commitment, I drove to the kennel.

When I arrived at the kennel, I noticed a woman standing outside. I wondered if she was the woman who bred the puppies. Getting out of my car and heading towards her, I could finally see her in greater detail. Her short, dark brown hair was styled into fluffy bangs and the rest of her hair was tucked into three buns. Dressed in a red blouse with a powder pink skirt, her dark eyes eyed me as I got even closer. Eventually, we stood within about a foot's distance, and she extended her hand to me. "You must be Connie, right? I'm Meg. I breed these dogs."

I shook Meg's hand, and grinning, I said "Of course. Anyways, could you please show me the puppies? I'm really kinda anxious to get my dog."

Meg smiled. "Well sure! I've got one picked out that's perfect for you. He's a he, and he's the youngest of the litter. I don't know why anyone else didn't want him, so let's go!"

I happily followed Meg, anticipating my little puppy. As we walked, Meg spoke "When we spoke on the phone to arrange this, you said you wanted a dog because you wanted something to care for and someone to care for you. That worries me a little."

I nervously bit my lip. "Well, my life's been kinda bad lately. I just went through my parents passing with in a month of each other, and a break-up a month later. I don't have many friends at all, and I thought a dog would help."

Meg furrowed her brow with genuine concern. "Awww, I'm sorry. You seem really nice; perhaps we could be friends? Here's my home phone number if you need someone to call." She handed me a slip of paper with a series of numbers scrawled on it.

"Well, thanks! It looks like we're here; could that be the one?" I pointed to the lone, cream-colored puppy in a metal playpen-like confinement.

Meg grinned. "Yep, that's him. I call him ChaCha, but you can call him anything you want."

Walking up closer to the little furball, I responded "I'm pretty uncreative really; I'll call him ChaCha since I can't think of anything else. It's so cute! It makes me think of cha-cha dancing!" I bent down and picked up ChaCha, who seemed fairly happy to see a new face.

Hastily handing Meg the money whilst holding ChaCha in the other arm, I ran off. "Thanks Meg! It was nice meeting you!" I shouted.

While running to my car, I saw Meg in the distance. She seemed to mumble something to herself, but I just kept on going.

…

After getting ChaCha, my dog walk route was as follows: get out of my neighborhood and into Green Hill Town proper. It wound through various shops, including one in particular called Toy PoPo. It was a toy shop that specialized in models. Time and time again, I saw many of the same people, but some new ones I'd never see again. I never really talked to them; they accepted me as "the woman who walked the puppy", and I accepted them from their snap-judgement roles too.

One day, something unusual happened on my usual ChaCha-walking route. I was just beginning to pass the Toy PoPo as I noticed an almost black haired man of about my age looking into the windows of the store and taking pictures. But I paid no attention to him and just kept walking.

Suddenly, ChaCha barked out of nowhere. It was a shrill, high-pitched puppy bark, but still a bark, and it was enough to startle the man, and with a horrific thud he fell to the concrete ground on his back.

I finally could get a better view of the man by now. His dark eyes, framed by glasses of a medium-thickness, gazed into mine for a split second. He had hair that was bushy to the point of looking unkempt at first glance, and looked to be dressed rather professionally overall. He rolled onto his bottom from his back quite rapidly, dispelling my worries of something being seriously wrong with this stranger.

Without the time to rationalize, I offered my hand to him and asked sympathetically "Do you need help getting up?"

The hand of this stranger that wasn't holding his rather expensive-looking camera flew right behind his head, and is face began to quickly flush crimson. He then pointed the window of the toy store and said "Thanks, but no thanks, I'm okay. Did you notice these model toys in the window? I was taking pictures of them for my job."

He quickly got up, and began to show me the models in closer detail. "You see, I'm a journalist for the Green Hill Times, and I'm typically assigned articles pertaining to new toy releases. Aren't they nifty? I just bought the plane yesterday!"

I could barely notice the wave of wonder that controlled me as I gazed into the window with this man that I hadn't even exchanged names with yet. I felt so content for one reason or another, and I couldn't put a finger on it.

The man went down to his knees to pet ChaCha. "So I see you have a dog? So that's what must have startled me. I'm sorry if I startled you."

I responded "Yes I do! His name is ChaCha. I only got him a few days ago, and have been walking here ever since I got him."

The man looked up at me, and I think I could see his eyes twinkling a bit in the dim sunlight of the midday. "Just for reference, my name's Forest Rand. And what's yours?"

"My name is Connie," I somewhat dully said.

After exchanging names, Forest got up and seemed to get nervous. His fingers met one another, and he gazed down at the ground, as if her were trying not to look at me. "U-uh, Connie, you say? You don't mind co-coming here tomorrow again, right?" Forest's speech then began to trail off into a stream of stuttering, and then he looked at me and stopped.

Instinctually, I replied "Sure. I usually walk past here, but ChaCha's a pretty young puppy, so I bet he doesn't need all that walking. And no need to be that nervous, do you think I'd hate a virtual stranger?"

Forest looked into my eyes again for a moment. "No, but…uh-er-errr…I think it was really nice of you to ask to help me up. And…uh-er…"

After Forest stopped, I interjected "Yes? Feel free to speak your mind around me."

He resumed speaking, and stuttered yet again. And then he said it, so quietly that I could barely hear him. "I don't know how else to tell you this," he beamed, "but I think you're really pretty."

I lightly elbowed Forest Rand, this virtual stranger that literally seemed to fall for me. And I simply smiled and said "Thanks."


	2. One Little Question

A day had past since that strangely eventful day on which Forest and I met, and oddly, I had found myself anticipating our next meeting. I wondered why, and if I was beginning to fall for the poor guy and his somewhat geeky, toy-collecting, and easily-startled ways.

"Oh Connie, don't worry, you're just getting out and keeping yourself busy!" I'd say to myself. "It's no different than if you met Meg this way."

As promised, I headed on my usual dog route past my subdivision and into Green Hill Town proper with ChaCha.

"Guess who we're seeing today little guy? That man who you scared half to death yesterday!" I cooed to ChaCha, bending down to pet him. I noticed that the phrase didn't quite come out right; it ended up very disturbing once I had said it, but luckily I was barely out the door by then, so no one could hear it except for ChaCha and me.

The spring air was light and breezeless, and by the time I had began to exit my neighborhood, it began to sprinkle a bit. Naturally, I began to fret. "What if it downright rains by the time we reach the Toy PoPo?" I wondered."

Despite the slight rain that dampened my clothes like liquid pinpoints, I continued on. It may have taken a while, but I persisted until I reached the Toy PoPo. And alas when I reached it, Forest was in front of the store! He may have been shivering in the rain a little, but I felt strangely happy to see him there.

As I walked up to him, he greeted me with an enthusiastic "Hi, Connie! How are you?"

I smiled. "Fine. So what would you like to do today?"

Forest chuckled for some reason. "I'm not sure. Perhaps we should go inside and just talk a little?"

I nodded, and walked into the store, holding the door for Forest with the hand that wasn't holding ChaCha's leash.

…

"Hello there, welcome-ah you must be Forest's girlfriend, the one with the dog. He's been talking about you all day!"

A voice from the distance spoke to me just before Forest entered. Upon closer inspection, it was actually coming from the owner. He was a middle-aged, green-eyed man that was just beginning to bald, and seemed to be dressed in a t-shirt and an apron from what I could tell.

By now, Forest was in the building. I felt suddenly nervous. "Why is this guy calling me your girlfriend? I barely even know you," I whispered to Forest. Forest anxiously smiled in response.

I scurried inside as Forest held the door open for me. He grinned uncontrollably as he did this favor for me, and then darted his gaze towards ChaCha.

Suddenly, I sighed. "You know, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Forest."

By now Forest was concentrating on petting ChaCha and twiddling with the puppy's fur. As soon as he heard me, he snapped out of his nervous daze and shuddered. Blushing slightly, Forest stood up and looked at me.

"So, what do you want to talk about?", I asked.

As usual, Forest looked very flustered. After acutely sighing, he muttered something below his breath.

"Hmmm? What was that?" I couldn't hear Forest at all.

The man in the back of the room suddenly spoke up. "Don't worry, that's normal for him. He gets very nervous around the women he fancies."

While maintaining his deep perennial blush, Forest wrinkled his brow at the man at the storekeeper. "It's different this time, okay?" he sulked, before looking down once again.

But then, something I didn't expect to happen judging by the dead ends this meeting was taking occurred. Forest, looking even more nervous than before, held his hand out towards my hand that was not grasping ChaCha's leash.

"Ummm…I've been wondering about something for the whole time I've been here."

"And what would that be, Forest? Don't be shy!," I perkily smiled.

Placing his hand closer to mine, Forest's anxiety seemed to be peaking. "Would you…no, will you hold my hand? Just once?"

After I heard what he said, my heart jumped and skipped a beat. Without saying anything, I slipped my hand into his.

Surprisingly, his hand was soft as it clung sturdily, yet not too strongly, to mine. I could feel a warm mist of sweat on it, surely accumulated from the anxiety he had to ask me that simple little question.

I looked at Forest. There was no sign of the former terror on his face. Instead, his expression was one that glowed with happiness.

Whispering into the ecstatic man's ear, I grinned too. "Like I said, there's no reason to worry".

Forest then whispered back. "Yes there is. Being told 'no' is a good reason to worry."


	3. An Innocent Victim

Still clutching my hand, Forest dreamily gazed into my eyes. I knew what he was feeling, but I was not sure about what I was. A small dose of excitement rushed through my body with every heart beat.

After staring at ChaCha for some time, I redirected my eyes towards Forest. Something about him just slightly different than when I collided with him yesterday. His dark hair no longer looked sloppy as I thought before he ran into me. Instead, his bangs undulated and swerved in towards his eyes, and the rest of his cowlicked hair followed the same pattern. Even when I saw him for the second time ever today, his glasses seemed clunky and unneeded from an aesthetic viewpoint, but now they framed his face flawlessly.

Out of nowhere, Forest cooed "Connie, are you willing to come with me? I've like to talk to you at my place."

Snapping out of my needless daydream, I listened to Forest. Suddenly, fear gripped me as I jerked my hand out of his, and turned around the other way.

…

_The young man's flowing blond hair shined in the sunlight. He and I were at the local park, taking in the fresh air and enjoying the vibrant atmosphere. A slight breeze rustled through the trees and grass, and one could hear children hollering in the distance._

_Without a word, I slipped my hand into his, and he smiled, sea-green eyes and all. Chucking, I locked eyes with him. Nothing else mattered to me; he was my world._

_But then, my beloved Ricky tugged at my hand. "You're looking pretty today; let's go!"_

Something about Ricky's intonation frightened me. As my gut churned, I forcefully yelled "NO. I know what you're thinking. I don't want to."

_By this point, Ricky dragged me up from the bench I was sitting at. I tried to resist, but it was to no avail. Fear had by now entirely inhabited my body as I wondered how someone who could caress me so gently could be so violent._

…

"No, I can't!" I headed in the opposite direction, and before I knew it, I was running. By the time I realized how quickly I was going, I forgot all about Forest. In my mind's eye, he was the enemy, and I was the innocent victim. Again.


	4. Panic

In my frenzied rush away from my newly-embodied fears, I sprinted and held ChaCha's leash in a death grip. My vision began to blur as my weight shifted forward. I shrilly screeched out from my terrified shock, hoping someone would hear me.

Looking down at my wobbling gait and ChaCha, I noticed a sense of fear in my puppy's eyes. I felt a resistance of sorts to my stumbling as he dragged me backwards. However, due to my state of being at the time, I could not muster the energy to discipline him, so I just moved on.

This ongoing chaos began to make my head spin, and I could feel my eyes clamp shut. Thought I was perfectly aware I was losing control, I took one more feeble step forwards as my bodily weight shifted downwards.

"There's no use," I thought, too shell-shocked to break my fall.

But just as I felt as if I were roughly halfway between my normal standing height and the ground, a pair of hands grasped around my torso. Malicious memories flooded my panicked and shutting-down brain.

Somehow, throughout all of this, I had the strength to mutter a phrase that let my fears known to the world: "_No…Ricky_."

…

By the time I had opened my bleary eyes, it was apparent that I was somewhere different. The room, covered in floral wallpaper, emanated with familiarity and warmth. Sitting up against the wall from the cushy, airy bed I previously lay on, I noticed a beige puffball in a figure's arms. However, with my vision still not being perfect, I could only assume I was seeing ChaCha with someone at my bedside.

"Connie? You're back!" A familiar man's voice shot out in exclamation. Soon afterwards, shrill puppy barks followed.

Then, as my vision normalized, it all came together. I saw it with my own eyes: Forest, the same man I just met the day before, and ChaCha, the puppy I had purchased not long before meeting Forest, had saved me from who-knows-what.

Forest grinned with elation as he stroked ChaCha. Animals may be great companions to people, and they may be able to soothe souls. But my sixth sense, or perhaps that engaged and enamored look in his eyes, led me to believe that this was not about ChaCha.


End file.
